Name: Bedtime stacking.<\/p>\n
Age: Of the moment.<\/p>\n
Appearance: Like a full workday for a consumptive 18th-century novelist.<\/p>\n
The name makes me think TikTok is involved. Correct: the term is credited to the TikToker Linn\u00e9a Pham, who coined it in January.<\/p>\n
And now it\u2019s a full-blown thing? It is. People \u2013 mostly young women \u2013 have been extolling the virtues of bedtime stacking in social media posts since.<\/p>\n
What does it involve? It means going to bed early \u2013 like, 8.30pm \u2013 but with a whole stack of stuff to do.<\/p>\n
What kind of stuff? That\u2019s up to you, but a typical bedtime stack includes bringing a laptop, an iPad, an e-reader, moisturiser, some kind of snack, the TV remote, a planner and a gratitude journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n When do you sleep? When you\u2019ve worked your way through the pile. Some call it a bed-based form of habit stacking.<\/p>\n But habit stacking is the practice of linking a desired habit to an established one \u2013 taking your medication just before you brush your teeth, for example. This is just slothful. Fine, then it\u2019s a form of bed rotting<\/a>, but productive \u2013 you get stuff done.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the point of going to bed early if you\u2019ve still got jobs to do? The point is to do it all in the same place, without moving.<\/p>\n Is this a good idea? No, it\u2019s a terrible idea. Everything we know about sleep suggests that bringing a heap of chores to bed with you is not conducive to a good night\u2019s rest.<\/p>\n Even I know you\u2019re not supposed to take screens to bed. Exactly \u2013 the light can interfere with your body\u2019s circadian rhythm, which leads to poor sleep hygiene.<\/p>\n And eating in bed is poor regular hygiene. Of course it is: it can attract insects or even rodents.<\/p>\n Is there anything else wrong with bedtime stacking? One facet of sound sleep is a regular bedtime. Retiring at 8.30 just so you can bed-stack isn\u2019t going to help.<\/p>\n